Bracks sees plight, offers a taskforce

Mallee farmers Roby and Vicki Manuel need only to look at the dustbowls surrounding their home to know they need help. They do not need a taskforce to tell them, they do not want to pass stringent criteria to prove it.

"Australian farmers are productive (and) are good at what they do. We don't feel very appreciated and don't feel as if anyone really cares," Mrs Manuel said yesterday.

"I'm sure if you all didn't have an income for a year you would hurt and we are hurting, too, and we really do need assistance from the state and federal governments together and quite quickly."

The Manuels yesterday hosted Premier Steve Bracks and Agriculture Minister Keith Hamilton on their Normanville property, near Kerang. With 90 per cent of their wheat and pea crops gone, it is among the worst affected in the region.

The Manuels said farmers desperately needed government grants and interest rate relief. But Mr Bracks, although keen to show he was listening to farmers, could only offer the establishment of a taskforce to advise his government on how to address the issues and identify the worst-affected areas that could qualify for federal "exceptional circumstances" funding. The Dry Seasonal Conditions Taskforce comprises farming, government and banking representatives.");document.write("

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Mr Bracks said the government was not hesitating in assisting the farmers. He said while an exceptional circumstances application would not be made until October, the government would provide extra funding for support services such as more rural finance consultants.

"The situation happened much earlier in New South Wales, of course, and much more severely in certain areas. That has been accepted and acknowledged, but we are here very importantly to work with the farming community, the irrigators and others to ensure we have the best possible advice for the future.

"We are not going to wait, for the exceptional circumstances conditions are rigorous and difficult and hard to meet and I don't believe that will assist in support at this stage and that's some way off."

State Opposition Leader Robert Doyle said he could not understand why the government had yet to come to the aid of farmers.

Mr Doyle said there was little doubt much of the state was in drought. "What farmers can't understand is why there is a drought apparently in Moama, but not in Echuca," he said.

He said it was difficult to comprehend why the NSW Government was offering its farmers subsidised loans and feed assistance while Victoria was doing nothing.

Mr Doyle described Mr Bracks' trip as a media stunt and said if he were premier he would look at declaring a drought now.